Fine Arts Faculty Exhibit Opens March 24

Located in the Ann Foxworthy Gallery

MARCH 20, 2014 -- The creative efforts of the Allan Hancock College fine arts department
artists/teachers are showcased in the annual Fine Arts Faculty Art Show, opening March
24 in the Ann Foxworthy Gallery on the Santa Maria campus. A reception for the artists
will be held in the gallery from 2:45 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 3. The public
is invited to meet the art faculty and see their work. The exhibit will be on display
through Wednesday, April 23.

The exhibit showcases a broad range of media including drawing, mixed media, oils,
digital painting, ceramics, photography and conceptual sculpture. Gallery Director
Marti Fast said, “This show is a longtime tradition, which allows students and visitors
an opportunity to appreciate the depth and breadth of talent in the fine arts program.”

Faculty member John Hood has pieces in the show. He teaches advanced drawing and
mixed media, and says he is constantly fascinated by the inner workings of nature.
“Its visual complexities and philosophical possibilities form a base from which I
begin my exploration. My interest in organic matter manifests in imagined shapes
based on my environment. A variety of experiments reveal themselves with new techniques
and compositions. For me, the forms become what I refer to as the constant companion,
taking the form of contemplative subject matter.”

Photography instructor David Passage has been shooting images from his iPhone, in
a new genre of image making called plein air photography. His suite of four images
was taken on a trip to Marfa, Texas. “iPhone cameras are not only changing the way
people use photography by allowing us to create and access visual information in the
moment, they are also an expressive tool, and wonderful apps let you edit pictures
on the fly and in the field.” After quick editing, Passage emails the files to his
home printer and moves on to the next subject to capture his imagination.

At the edgy end of the spectrum is fine arts instructor Gabriel Navar, who has fun
parodying YouTube and the ubiquitous world of apps. His four paintings are critical
and creative explorations, celebrations and observations about our relationships,
dependence and addictions with technological apps, such as his “App 4 better days”
and “App 2 undo failures.”

Bob Nichols leads the ceramics program on campus. A prolific artist who constantly
experiments with line, shapes, symbolism, color and process, he is lately playing
with lines found in rock formations, images taken of earth from the air and other
sources both natural and man-made. These inspired his own stick and ink marks, which
he interpolated into both digital print and ceramic forms. His nine-part project,
“(m)Artifacts,” reflects the abstraction process and creative thinking these calligraphically
based marks inspired.

Design instructor Nancy Jo Ward has inspired scores of digital design students with
her teaching and art. She blurs the line between traditional and digital art, drawing,
painting and compositing found objects and textures onto digital photos or pastel
drawings that have been developed traditionally and then digitized. Recently she
was asked to create a painting as a tribute to the late Nat Fast, former Hancock instructor
and PCPA company artist. Using one of Fast’s iconic folkloric dance images as a background
element, Ward added her own dancer in a vibrant, energetic interpretation of movement
and color.

Fast said that this show is one of the most serene she has mounted in recent years,
including documentary photos of the recent visit to Hancock by the Tibetan monks taken
by the college’s staff photographer, Kevin Boland. Some of the paintings include
birds, Mono Lake, and hummingbirds nectaring. For a smile, the center gallery features
three wonderfully quirky metal bird sculptures by Mike McNutt. Fast invites visitors
to come enjoy an inspiring time viewing the variety of art on display in the gallery.

The Foxworthy Gallery is open Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Friday
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; it is closed weekends and school holidays. The gallery is
located in the Academic Resource Center, Bldg. L-South, in the heart of the Santa
Maria campus.